Take Dad to the Washington Brewers Festival in Redmond

POSTED BYCarole Cancler

The Washington Brewers Festival is a unique all-age beer festival held every year on Father’s Day weekend at King County’s Marymoor Park, 6046 W Lake Sammamish Parkway NE, Redmond, WA. Thousands of beer aficionados and families gather to celebrate dad with 500 beers from 130 Washington breweries, along with live music, food, and all-ages activities. The festival offers wine and cider tasting, too. Sorry, NO DOGS allowed.

About Washington Beer Commission

The Washington Beer Commission is the first Agricultural Commodity Commission for craft beer in the U.S. Through RCW 15.89 the state granted the commission the opportunity to produce up to 12 beer tasting festivals per year and to use the proceeds to promote and market Washington’s craft breweries. The brewing industry in Washington contributes significantly tothe economic vitality of our state. According to the Beer Institute, the direct economic impact, when coupled with the revenue generated by way of distributors and retailers, totaled in excess of $1.2 billion in 2010. Washington state now boasts 162 breweries and is still the only state in the nation with a beer commission.

The Washington Beer Commission is proud to put on seven beer tasting festivals around the state as a way to showcase many of the 170 craft breweries in Washington. These beer tasting festivals are unique either to the season in which they take place or to the style of beers to be featured. Each of them boast at least 70 different Washington craft beers to choose from!

Washington Brewers Festival Information

Washington State breweries map

When: Every Father’s Day Weekend. Friday is 21+ only. Saturday-Sunday is all ages; persons under 21 are admitted free of charge, if accompanied by an adult.

Tickets: Regular tickets are $35 at the door and includes a tasting cup and 8 tasting tokens. Discount tickets: Advance online purchase is $25 Early Bird tickets until May 31st and $30 online after May 31st. Designated driver admission is $5; includes soda or water. Event Parking is $5 per vehicle (Cash Only). Tickets are good for one day only and non-refundable.

Parking: $10 per vehicle (Cash Only). Discount parking: $5 for carpools of four or more. Carpooling with a designated driver is strongly advised. Parking is available from both the East and West entrances of Marymoor Park. You may save time and avoid some traffic using the East entrance (the “insiders” entrance!); map to 176th Ave NE & NE Marymoor Way, Redmond, WA 98052. Your walk to the event gate may be about 400 yards further from the East entrance parking area. For West entrance, map to West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE & NE Marymoor Way, Redmond, WA 98052.

Beer, wine & cider tasting: Admission includes a souvenir tasting glass and eight (4oz) tasting tokens. Three additional tokens may be purchased for $2.00 each or three for $5.00. This 11 token limit is to ensure a safe and family friendly event on Saturday and Sunday per WSLCB licensing agreement. In addition to beer, a selection of locally produced wine and cider will be available for sampling at 2 tokens per taste.

But wait, there’s more!

Rootbeer Garden: There are many family-friendly brewpubs in Washington where you can take your kids and have a quality family meal together. Some of them even offer children’s menus and make their own rootbeer with the same meticulous care they apply to their world-class beer. Kids (and adults) can enjoy the premium craft rootbeer and soda by select Washington breweries in Washington Beer’s very own Rootbeer Garden during the Festival. Taps rotate throughout the weekend so please ask the servers what they are serving.

Food: fantastic lineup of food trucks. Prices vary; usually in the range of $10-$20 per item.